Normal people
Normal people -or normal people, by its original English title, is a romantic and dramatic novel written by the award-winning Irish screenwriter, film producer and author Sally Rooney. The work was published for the first time on August 30, 2018 by the Faber & Faber publishing house. Two months earlier, the volume had already been included in the Man Booker Prize shortlist.
Later, Normal people won the Irish Novel of the Year award at the Irish Book Awards. In addition, won the Costa Book Award in the Novel category. On the other hand, at that time it was included on the list for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2019. Finally, the work was translated into Spanish by Inga Pellisa and marketed by the Literatura Random House publishing house.
Synopsis of Normal People, by Sally Rooney
A couple of ordinary guys
The plot follows the evolution of the relationship between Marianne and Connell, and how the passage of time brings them together or confronts them depending on the situation. They both meet at a student institute located in Sligo, Ireland. But their own personalities and social circles take them in different directions. She is reserved, and she does not have many friends, as almost everyone considers her too strange.
He, for his part, is one of the brightest and most popular students at school. Even so, Things change between them when Lorraine, Connell's single mother, starts working cleaning Denise's house., Marianne's mother, who also raises her children alone. From then on, the protagonists get closer until they consolidate a relationship, at first, friendship, and later, love.
Secrets have consequences
Despite the sincere feelings they have for each other, Marianne and Connell decide to keep their romance hidden, in order not to generate questions and prying eyes at the school. But The secret gets complicated when Connell goes to the prom. with another student. Under this context, the protagonists break their bond, and decide to continue on their own.
Years later, both meet again, this time, at Trinity College in Dublin. The new approach allows them to resume their relationship, although playing exchanged roles., Marianne being the popular one. Although this period helps them reconnect, the couple must face new obstacles, starting with typical situations of adulthood, such as financial problems.
Main themes of Normal people
The most delicate topics addressed in Normal people They start with the conflicts that almost all of us have faced: money. However, economic precariousness is only the tip of the iceberg. Little by little, this romance novel is torn apart in honest student conflicts, later entering others, such as mental health and the loss of loved ones.
One after another, the dramatic moments defined by Sally Rooney forever change the lives of the protagonists. The novel is narrated through two perspectives that reveal feelings as deep as they are contrary. There are also communication problems between Marianne and Connell, which, since they are so young, become too intense at times.
Psychological profile of the main characters
Marianne Sheridan
Despite being a very intelligent young woman, in high school they used to see her as the typical strange girl. This may be because her father abused her and her mother, because her older brother did the same for a long time, or because her mother never defended her. For all these reasons, Marianne He worked hard to discover his own value, which he found away from home thanks to his college friends.
Connell Waldron
From the beginning, he is presented as a boy with a high social status and a great youth soccer player, but all his privileges end in Dublin. When he meets classmates, they make him feel intellectually inferior, because they are capable of expressing their opinions more vehemently than those of their old institute. Therefore, he focuses on his studies of Literature and Writing.
Reviews of Normal people
Waterstones, the British library chain, was responsible for endorsing this novel by Sally Rooney after its release in 2018. The same year, The Guardian It was ranked number 25 on the list of the 100 best books of the XNUMXst century. On the other hand, the editor in chief of Irish Independent He called it “controversial.” for including several discussions about the essay The Communist Manifesto.
This inclusion, of course, is due to the author's own political positions, who has considered herself a Marxist. In fact, in her novel, Sally Rooney also refers to the feminist work of Doris Lessing, The golden notebook. Other newspapers that gave positive opinions were Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times y The New Yorker.
About the author
Sally Rooney was born on February 20, 1991, in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. He graduated in English from Trinity College Dublin. and, later, he completed a master's degree in Political Science and another in American Literature. She completed the latter in 2013. During her academic period, she participated in the European University Debate Championship, whose experience she captured in her stories.
Regarding his literary career, he has said that he wrote his first novel at the age of fifteen, although he has always considered it “Absolute rubbish.” In 2014, he began creating much more steadily, getting about 100.000 words out of the book in the first three months. In 2015, she was contacted by the Wylie agency, signing with Tracy Bohan to publish her debut.
His first two books already have adaptations in series format by BBC Three and Hulu. Both have 12 episodes, and were filmed under the direction of Lenny Abrahamson, and scripts by Alice Birch.
Other books by Sally Rooney
- Conversations with Friends — Conversations between friends (2014);
- Beautiful World, Where Are You — Where are you, beautiful world (2021)